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Theridion Grallator
Description
Theridion Grallator is also known named as the Hawaiian happy face spider, it is called like that because of it's unique pattern on its abdomen, specifically those that resemble a human smiling face. Its Hawaiian nae is "nananana makaki'i" which means Face patterned spider. But, the evolutionary purpose of this particular pattern is unknown. Scientists think that it may serve as camouflage for the arachnid, given its tropical habitat. It's size is up to 5mm in length. By evolution, their legs are somewhat translucent and are very long. Both these feature help them remain attached to the base of the leaves almost invisible. The Hawaiian happy faced spiders are highly derived members of the cobweb spiders group, but do not share their toxicity of their much feared relatives. It's not poisonous to humans nor it is prone to bite. They eat many small insects. Unlike other spiders that use their webs as a way to detect their prey, these species detect their prey through the vibrations made by the prey, which is transmitted through the residence leaf. These spiders huntat night and hide under leaves during day time.
Classification
Scientific name - Theridion grallator
Order - Spider
Family - Theridiidae
Kingdom - Animalia
Class - Arachnid
Phylum - Arthropod
Genus - Theridion
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Distribution
The Happy Face spiders are native to Hawaii. Which means it's not naturally found in other areas of the world. This spider is found on the islands of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, and on Hawaii’s Big Island. The proportion of color morphs somewhat varies between the islands of Maui and Hawai’i. On Maui, the most common patterned morph is the Red front, which contains a red “U” on the anterior dorsum. The opisothoma color morphs Yellow, Red front, Red blob, and Red ring are found in both male and female Happy face spiders in Maui. However, in Hawai’i, these morphs are sex-selective with Yellow and Red blob appearing in females only and Red front and Red ring in males only.
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The female happy face spiders lay up to 250 eggs at a time. After that it places them in silk brown toned egg sacs and sticks them them to the web. The female spider guards and protects eggs from predators until the babies hatch out. The mother spider catches prey for its young ones. The eggs go through larval life before they eventually hatch out as baby spiders. They resemble smaller versions of their adults. The juveniles keep shedding their exoskeletons in their process of growing quite a few times throughout their life. And the Male spider die soon after mating, but females live longer.
Carnivorous caterpillars have been attacking happy face spiders, when they are attacked they try to bite the caterpillars off and free itself. Their patterning assists them frighten predators. Even though they are not endangered they slightly threatened. deforestation, habitat loss and global warming will absolutely result in the extinction of these species. So please try to care about these animals.
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